Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-26
INFAMIES OF THE MINES.
The Worst Of All the Abuses-The
"CompaDy Doctor"-The Miners
Must Psy Him Whether or No.
DEunkard Vino Has 5000 Patients
Southern Shareholders Paid Their Doc
tors-Thsse slaves Taxed for Him.
New York World

B
MAUCH CHUNK, PA, Aug. What
crimes there ere committed under the
authority and protection of medical
certificate. TIE doctor Of medicine,
! sworn by the most solemn oaths 10 faith
fulness ana L7aI ia the prosecution OF his
noble professionalism often he fails
/ through lsziDess or dishonesty to live up
to the provisions q mis- iron-c!ad osth
and prostitutes the granGeSt q e. call
ings to ignOble ends.
1t seems Utmost Incredible, but Il is
true, that the doctor is one OF the gAded
liuks in tde chain that binds the coal
slaves OF Pennsylvania. Yes, there sre
men in this unhsppy regIOn-meu who
wear the honOTeG gown Of the doctors OF
mediC.ne-wAo ere not ashamed 70 stoup
to the wriEgiug Of une&rred and unY.Il-
in9ly given CONS from the palms OF the
/ hai-s.arved miners sid their families.
! Some OF them hsye grown fat and wealthy
/ from tRC money thum5screWed cut OF inc
poor in their beh4f Oqe of them. the
member Of s family Of these "doctoTs
emeritus" who twenty years ago tray-
eiIed ABOUT on foo- poor AID friend
! ICES, picking up s dime CT quarter
I MI II H. CGuLtl-LL.-S EtItltIlBN Is
now The chief proprietor of HaZlegrO0B,
| Lhe hero q the heartleSS eyictions which
have since beeG frOwned upon by The iaw,
| the 5uI!Ger of Maucd Chunks most re
cent pGlsCe-Dr. John Went
A DRUNKEN DOCTOR WITH 5000 ENFORCED
PATIENTS.
a few NIGHTS bgo, while sitting on the
I porch CT hotel ia one OF the chief cities
/ in TIE mining region, my attention was
called t. = young mGu, fasGlOHaJly
| dressed, who came staggering up tee
street, considerably more thGu hall seas
over.
That man Is one of the brightest,
smsrtest doctors in tbs part OF he
( sta e" ssid the citizen who attracted my
attention to hin. "But-welI, you can
see for yourself that his worst enemy las
/ 20. nold Of MIN. 1t is too 5sd-a young
man Of such promise aud having sucG
enormous responsibilities. -
"But surely" I ssij, &c man with such
< failing can have To practice 70 speak
of"
/ ''PtaCtice. aye, there's the rut. lie
/ has Tremendous practice Il : com
pu.sorY practice, lie is tire crcisl
/ p2vSician Al Two or three
| Ltlll( IlC5. II liz 'ASAE-4 LliGtLfs al lNu-at,
numbers, with their iamuiGs-peIhaps
1000 p-rsous-a.e under his medical
sape VISION. II Ne would only keep Sc
Der it would be ali right, l suppose. 0Et,
unfortunately, he was no. aiw rs 10 b.
{ depended UpJl."
"Do you maan to say" 1 cried, agdsst,
''th&t SOD persons sre compelled IL relv
Or the services % : yCucg Doctor yfaO is
| = -,E,l 10,
"My young friend" returned the cid
citizen dryly, "t.e!e is nothing impOssI-
/ bic uD il this country, arc pray you not
TO maze the uistske Of thinking there s.
SO FIR IS computation is concerned III this
and other instances that l know CT, the
case stands thus: Every married man
make collections for yonder drunken
saHbones is obliged TO pay him 5 per
vear-nay, it Is cooked from mis- mon bly,
earnings-snd every single men car
tributes So. If they wish to pay this
tribute and employ another physician they
are not denied that luxury, but as surely
as man is found out doing this his ser
vices are dispensed with. You ask why?
1t is this: "lhe company does not want
strange doctors about. They want their
/ Off Il LltAus anu t44EA4t WIN L1SAC IL IL
accident in their mines, why, there Is 10
coroner's inquest and no trouble about q
certificate of deatA and all that. Seer"
"MY God. Do you mean to say that
! this Is the TRUTH"
"Inyestig4Ge for yourself. l mske no
protestatIons
An INFAMOUS SYSTEM.
Well, heve investigated, snd found
thZt tae old citizen told the truth. There
| have been crimes committed uD here
/ crimes OF omission, crimes Of commission
under this syatem Of enforced doctor
Ing which prevails st many of the mines
/ There have been deaths in the mines
aye, many ct them-caused By company
carelessness or syarice, and deiicetely
covered over by these richly paid sttOr-
neys. There have been women ia Child-
birth reelected because the doctor IVES
off Oh DIT OF g spree, or doing the sOci-
ely set ia some fashionable event Tasre
have been dying people uE sttsEted,
though :hey had long been taxed for az
tendance, for do assure you, sltnOGgh 10
Justice be il said that there are msR5
good Een and true among The "cOmnsny
DOCTORS" that as q usual thing the 'col-
.ctiOu Of the tex IS much better lock q
after than the earning Of tie same.
But what is the use of talking e3eut
the darker specific crimes which Hxye
backened the history OF this nedScal
blackmal? The system itself IS s cFfne-
system which places tbs lives GnG iealtA
OF thousands in the hands Of q salaTisd
physician, and in one instance, e. least9s
1ruukard. Tlet it las given birth9.sSo
monsters OF iniquity IS but Da8fSl
Slavery was ever the mother of Ce7H5.
call the system a medical blackma
advisedly. How much, think you, does
the average miner require the SERVICES %
g doctor? Ia case OF childbirth? xTes
bat in that case there is 2 specials s1e rse
o. So for g simple and regular case, with
higher charges if the case be difiicula
Ia case of accident? Yes; but in a
majority Of accidents the company snafHn
Justly staDj the surgical fees. BsyGa6
these cases there is precious littlssEe-
mand for the doctor in these mountain
attitudes. Miners children are proverbs
itlly healthy. Pure air ard mountsfS
water, coarse fare, with no luxuries-t6T
orchards DO not flourish IN the middle
coal fields and candy is unknown in the
childhood OF cosldom-,hese things make
young ones sturdy and disease q strsDgeI,
I've not had the doctor ia the housa
this twenty year, only when tn yCua4
uns came" is 8 sentence l hsya heard
from 8 score Of hearty old miners
yet all that time these men have
been bled, blackmailed, taken by the
throat and made to deliver 81 the rate Of
| 50 year, with extra taxation for the
only work the doctors did FOR them, assd